Sinn Féin Leas Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill MLA has expressed her condolences to the family and friends of Tom Mitchell, former Sinn Féin MP for Mid Ulster.
Michelle O’Neill said:
“I was saddened to hear of the death of veteran republican Tom Mitchell.
“Tom was elected as a Sinn Féin MP for Mid Ulster while a political prisoner in May 1955, making history as the first Sinn Féin MP elected in the north since 1918.
“The British government tried to strip him and the republican voters of Mid Ulster of his seat and forced a by-election, which he also won with an increased majority.
“He challenged this disenfranchisement of the people and continued to fight injustice for the rest of his life.
“He was on the first civil rights march from Coalisland to Dungannon and retained a close bond with Mid Ulster and its people.
“My thoughts are with his family, friends and all who knew him at this sad time.”
